Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, has said the money will go towards repairing the two million potholes that the harsh weather has created, causing an increase in HGV Insurance claims.

Current Funding

The government already provides £75 million to councils around the country through the Pothole Action Fund; this is on top of £46 million which, it was announced, would be given to highways authorities at the end of 2017. A further £900,000 is also being invested in vehicles which will provide data to local councils, allowing them to repair roads before potholes appear. In 2017, high-definition cameras were fitted to refuse trucks to help them detect and record pothole locations.

The news has been welcomed by the haulage industry as they struggle with the cost of damaged suspension systems, increased tyre wear and higher insurance costs. Competitive insurance is still available, however. Visit https://www.quotemetoday.co.uk/hgv-insurance. Often distribution centres are sited on industrial estates that are positioned on access roads which aren’t part of the road network. Ensuring these are well maintained is vital for both the regional economy and local businesses.

Unacceptable

The announcement comes following a yearly study by the Asphalt Industry Alliance which found that an alarming 20 per cent of roads in both England and Wales won’t be able to be used in as little as five years. In real terms this means that 40,000 miles of road are in an unacceptable and dangerous condition. The survey also uncovered that spending on road repairs was falling short of actual requirements. The deficit between the two came out at a worrying £556 million.
Concerns

Both the general public and hauliers have welcomed the news, but the reality is that the funding actually only provides a mere one per cent of what is required to act on the backlog of road repairs, which is at an all-time high of £9.3 billion. Indeed, the haulage industry is calling for a longer-term strategy and a financial solution to what is an ongoing problem on the UK’s roads which continues to have a knock-on negative effect on business profitability.